dogs on trucks blog

two interesting posts from slashdot

can your mouth become bilingual?

google's smart advertising leads to more clicks

tags: information design, information architecture, artificial intelligence

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 5:51 PM

Miers withdraws Supreme Court nomination

via MSNBC - Under withering attack from conservatives, Harriet Miers has withdrewn her nomination to the US Supreme Court. More...

tags: Harriet Miers, Supreme Court, nomination, Bush

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 12:17 AM

chotto yondemi

ciao, hello, tadaima if you are a returning reader.
sugoku fresh na content in the loop aujourd'hui.

some interesting library links

information on scientific experiments gone awry & yet to go awry

chotto yondemi

in the news - a person's vestibular balance has been succesfully comandeered with the use of an electric signal. some tech enthusiasts are hailing the discovery as a great stride in the area of virtual reality research.

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 11:28 AM

remote control for humans

hi folks,

below is an excerpt from an article on a new technology that has been successfully used to control human movement.

an electric current is focused on the inner ear of the test subject, giving his or her "operator" the ability to steer them to the left or right.

remote control device "controls" humans
by Yuri Kageyama

The technology is called galvanic vestibular stimulation — essentially, electricity messes with the delicate nerves inside the ear that help maintain balance. I felt a mysterious, irresistible urge to start walking to the right whenever the researcher turned the switch to the right. I was convinced — mistakenly — that this was the only way to maintain my balance.

The phenomenon is painless but dramatic. Your feet start to move before you know it. I could even remote-control myself by taking the switch into my own hands. There's no proven-beyond-a-doubt explanation yet as to why people start veering when electricity hits their ear. But NTT researchers say they were able to make a person walk along a route in the shape of a giant pretzel using this technique.

It's a mesmerizing sensation similar to being drunk or melting into sleep under the influence of anesthesia. But it's more definitive, as though an invisible hand were reaching inside your brain.

more...

tags: virtual reality, mind control, science, neuroscience

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 9:57 AM

from a boingboing post on information architecture

"A Spime is a location-aware, environment-aware, self-logging, self-documenting, uniquely identified object that flings off data about itself and its environment in great quantities. A universe of Spimes is an informational universe, and it is the use of this information that informs the most exciting part of Sterling's argument. "

tags: shaping things, Bruce Stirling, design

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 9:33 AM

Bush Aides Brace for Charges

...---...---loop--- ...---...---

Bush Aides Brace for Charges
Grand Jury May Hear Counts in Leak Case Today

By Jim VandeHei and Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 26, 2005; Page A01

The prosecutor in the CIA leak case was preparing to outline possible charges before the federal grand jury as early as today, even as the FBI conducted last-minute interviews in the high-profile investigation, according to people familiar with the case.

With Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald in Washington yesterday, lawyers in the case and some White House officials braced for at least one indictment when the grand jury meets today. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, is said by several people in the case to be a main focus, but not the only one.

More...

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 8:38 AM

sunrise for .eu domains

The European Registry of Internet Domain Names (EURid) has recently announced that the sunrise period for .eu domains will begin on December 7th. The .eu top level domain (TLD) is intended for organizations within the European community and is yet another way in which European states are coming together to create a stronger community.

The sunrise period is broken up into two parts, each lasting two months. In the first phase only those who have a prior right or claim to the name may register the .eu extension. In the second phase of the sunrise period starting February 7th, others, including companies, unregistered trademarks, trade names, business identifiers and distinctive titles of protected literary and artistic work may begin registering their domains with the .eu TLD. After the sunrise period has ended on April, 7th, the .eu registration is open to all with an interest in the European Community on a first come first serve basis.

For more information about the .eu domains including the official rules, please see The European Registry of Internet Domain Names at EURid.

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 3:01 PM

a piece of writing by Fred First

Rising, falling as they turned on their perches as each new spokesman, spokesbird, took the podium, a hundred giant rainsticks inverted over and over, tinkling, waterdrop metallic voices that swelled just before they all took wing, became suddenly visible, followed the advice of the most insistent speaker, and they were gone from sight, then from sound only to rise and swirl and return to the same two trees out of hundreds of trees on the same ridge having vetoed their twentieth or twenty-first itinerary. Undecided voters, uncertain of where or when, sure that they must go, more or less south, more or less soon. And at once they flushed, and headed north.

more...

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 9:18 AM

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 3:03 PM

letters to Dogs on Trucks

dear mr. dogs on trucks sama.

does the dogs on trucks forward chomping ikigai browser come in gravy flavor?
if so I would like to order it for my wan-chan.

sincerely,
Eager to Start Surfing the Net with my Dog

dear Eager to Start Surfing,

the forward chomping ikigai browser has many flavors.
it is impossible to predict what flavor the browser will have.
Your pet is just going to have to ku-te-miru
(bite and see) to see if the flavor is right for them.

thanks for writing! Sincerely, Dogs on Trucks

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 6:47 AM

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 12:40 PM

Arrest warrant issued for Tom Delay

Austin, TX (AP) - A Texas court issued a warrant for former House Majority leader Tom DeLay to appear for booking, where he is likely to face the fingerprinting and photo mug shot he had hoped to avoid. More...

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 9:43 AM

boingboing post re: google copyright infringement

Google sued by Association of American Publishers
Snip from AAP press release issued today:

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today announced the filing of a lawsuit against Google over its plans to digitally copy and distribute copyrighted works without permission of the copyright owners. The lawsuit was filed only after lengthy discussions broke down between AAP and Google’s top management regarding the copyright infringement implications of the Google Print Library Project.

The suit, which seeks a declaration by the court that Google commits infringement when it scans entire books covered by copyright and a court order preventing it from doing so without permission of the copyright owner, was filed on behalf of five major publisher members of AAP: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Pearson Education, Penguin Group (USA), Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons.

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 3:09 PM

washington post article on abortion

the abortion debate no one wants to have

tags: eugenics, birth dearth

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 9:14 PM

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 5:11 PM

open house at Giles County Animal Rescue

hi folks,
here are two announcements from the Giles County Animal Rescue in Pearisburg, Virginia.
Please help spread the word about these important events.

Animal Rescue open house on October 15
Giles County Animal Rescue is holding their annual Open House and Yard Sale at the Giles County Shelter on Saturday, October 15 from 12-4 PM. Please come out and support the shelter's work to save homeless and unwanted animals. You can tour the shelter, meet the volunteers, take part in the raffle, buy something at the yard sale, enjoy some refreshments, and maybe even find a new friend to adopt. Hope to see you there!

Pet supply drive at Pearisburg Wal-mart on October 22
On Saturday, October 22, volunteers with RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) will be accepting donations for Giles County Animal Rescue in front of Wal-Mart in Pearisburg. This Make A Difference Day activity could not have come at a better time for the animals as our supply of discounted and free food has dried up.

At the moment, the shelter desperately needs the following items: canned dog food and puppy food, canned cat food, dry kitten food, towels, rugs, leashes & collars, crates (new & gently used)

However, they can use just about any item related to the care of cats and dogs. Please plan to stop by Wal-Mart and make a donation to help the unwanted and abandoned animals of Giles County.

tags: pet rescue, virginia, Pearisburg, Newport, New River Valley, pet adoption, cats, dogs, Giles County, stray

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 11:07 AM

earthquake claims more than 19,000 lives

more than 19,000 people have been killed by this weekend's earthquake in Pakistan, according to the Pakistani government. Most of the deaths were in the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

360 lives were lost in India, and four people died in Afghanistan as a result of the earthquake.

please help pray for all the victims of this terrible disaster.

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 7:02 AM

Brazil fights oil prices with alcohol

Brazil fights oil prices with alcohol

from the Christian Science Monitor. Via Yahoo Headlines.

Alcohol made from sugar cane is becoming the fuel of choice in Brazil, and other countries - so much so that global sugar prices hit a seven-year high this week. More...

tags: alternative energy, fuel, gasoline, oil, sugar cane, flexible fuel, Brazil, ethanol

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 12:12 AM

urgent memo from Appalachian Voices

VERY URGENT – Appalachian Voices has just learned that the US House of Representatives will vote on FRIDAY, October 7, on a bill that will gut key provisions of the our federal clean air protections. The bill, called the “Gasoline for America’s Security Act” (H.R. 3893), would eliminate a critical part of the Clean Air Act, called new source review, that requires utilities to install new pollution control equipment when they make significant upgrades to coal-fired power plants.

No matter where you live, PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IMMEDIATELY, by noon on Friday if at all possible, and ask them to vote no on this bill. To find your Representative and his or her phone number, go to this website and type in your zip code: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

We strongly suggest you call your Representative. However, if you only have time to send an email to your Representative, click here: http://action.lcv.org/campaign/energy_100605

We have also learned that the utilities are heavily targeting US Representatives from North Carolina in their lobbying efforts, so it is especially important for our supporters in North Carolina to contact their US Representative.

In April, 80% of the members of North Carolina’s state legislature signed a letter calling on the state’s US Representatives and Senators to oppose any rollbacks of the Clean Air Act. Click here for more information: http://www.appvoices.org/air/ncgaletter.asp

In addition, a number of towns, counties and cities across North Carolina have adopted resolutions asking the delegation to oppose any rollbacks of the Clean Air Act. If you live in or near one of these localities, be sure to mention the resolution to your Representative:

- Watauga County
- Alexander County
- Haywood County
- City of Asheville (Buncombe County)
- City of Hickory (Catawba County)
- City of Boone (Watauga County)
- Town of Sparta (Allegheny County)
- Town of Taylorsville (Alexander County)
- Town of Seven Devils (Avery County)

The “Gasoline for America’s Security Act,” is just a new and opportunistic way to package the same old proposals designed to weaken the Clean Air Act that have been promoted by big polluting power companies in Congress for the last three years. It is bad for North Carolina, the Appalachian Mountains, and the nation.

This harmful legislation would:

- Allow 20,000 aging industrial facilities to increase pollution without installing modern pollution controls.
- Delay existing smog cleanup deadlines for many years.
- Undermine diesel engine cleanup requirements that would ultimately eliminate 20,000 premature deaths and $140 billion in health costs annually.
- Do nothing to provide lower gas and energy prices.

Finally, please help us spread the word by forwarding this action alert far and wide! Thank you!

If you need any help in contacting your Representative, please contact Appalachian Voices at conservation@appvoices.org or toll free at 1-877-APP-VOICE.

--
Mary Anne Hitt
Executive Director
Appalachian Voices
703 West King Street, Suite 105
Boone, NC 28607
828-262-1500

Visit us on the web:
www.appalachianvoices.org

posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 6:59 PM